Canal+ has unveiled a new organisational structure across its Benelux & Central Europe operations, with a series of senior executive appointments under the leadership of Yassine Bouzoubaa, CEO Canal+ Benelux & Central Europe.
The revamped Executive Committee is designed to strengthen the group’s commercial and content operations across the region.
Myriam Rakib has been appointed EVP Business – Canal+ Benelux & Central Europe. Reporting to Bouzoubaa, she will be tasked with boosting commercial impact, driving synergies and harmonising methodologies and processes. Her remit spans Sales, Marketing, Communication, Customer Value Management, Customer Relations, Data and Distribution Partnerships.
Rakib joined the group in 2015, holding several marketing and VOD roles in France before becoming Head of Business Development in Switzerland. In November 2023 she was named Managing Director of Canal+ Switzerland.
Erwan Luherne becomes EVP Content & Publishing – Canal+ Benelux & Central Europe. Also reporting to Bouzoubaa, he will oversee acquisitions, original productions, channel publishing and advertising sales across the region, with a brief to further develop the group’s value proposition.
Luherne will retain his position as CEO of SPI International. He joined Canal+ in 2005 and has held senior marketing and business development roles, including leading the group’s operations in Asia as CEO of Canal+ Myanmar between 2017 and 2022. Since April 2023 he has served as CEO of SPI International, based in Warsaw.
Jeroen Bergman has been appointed EVP Content Partnerships – Canal+ Benelux & Central Europe. He will be responsible for the acquisition of third-party channels and platforms, working in liaison with the wider Canal+ group. Bergman will report to Bouzoubaa, with a functional reporting line to Pascale Chabert, Chief Content Acquisition Officer of CANAL+ Group.
Bergman joined Canal+ in 2022 following more than 20 years as Managing Director Programming at Liberty Global. Prior to that he was commercial director at Dutch cable operator Casema, now Ziggo. Since 2019 he has managed the Film1 and FilmBox businesses in the Netherlands for SPI International.
In Switzerland, Rakib hands over to Sophie Hedouin, who has been appointed CEO of Canal+ Switzerland and will report to Bouzoubaa. Hedouin brings more than 20 years’ experience within the group, having held several senior finance roles including CFO of Canal+ operations in La Réunion and Vietnam, before serving as Managing Director in Romania.
Meanwhile, management of the group’s Romanian activities will be led by Florina Pascu, who has been appointed Director of Focus Sat. Pascu joined Focus Sat in 2020 as Senior Product Marketing Manager, following product management roles at Vodafone and Telekom Romania.
Commenting on the changes, Bouzoubaa said the appointments marked “an important milestone” for the regional operation.
“By strengthening our content and business organisation, we are giving ourselves the means to strengthen our competitive position across our markets and to deliver an ever-stronger value proposition to our subscribers,” he said. “I look forward to working closely with each of them and wish them every success in their new responsibilities.”
